TARVA V

Settling in with Taizu

Chapter 1: Mordenkainen's Retreat

587, Fireseek 15 - 28:

    Tarva watches as Ahb sets the last of the destination wheels. A S Y O U W I S H, they spell. Suddenly, she is in darkness, still unable to move. This wasn't what she was expecting: where was Taizu? The rest of the group? Why weren't they back in the Fire Temple -- wasn't that what they'd been promised?

    A voice spoke to her inside her head, "Where are you going?" What a strange question. She thought about all the daydreams she'd ever held - especially the ones she still had. Singing, going back to Feyland, talking with HR again, having children with Taizu, creating the first Bardic Octave, opening a conservatory in Greyhawk, where they could pursue Taizu's preferred music styles. It was a long list. "To find out who I am; who I can be; what life Taizu and I can have together; and where I can help Heart's Reach find his full potential." She didn't really speak, but if she could have, those words would have been her answer.

    There was no response - well, no noticeable one - to her directed thought. After a long moment, the voice came back again: "Attack. Defense. Distract. Retreat." Somehow she knew she was supposed to select one of those, as being the one she was most interested in: the one which best fit with her approach to problems. 'Attack': well after all she was a fighter, of course she'd attack a lot. 'Defense': a good idea, but not really her style. At least, Taizu kept chiding her for not being cautious enough. 'Retreat': not bloody often. 'Distract': now this one fit almost too well. What came to her mind were all the times she'd tried to convince a foe to take her on, instead of one of her companions, shouting to get its attention, or stepping into harm's way. Or, sometimes, doing something sneaky -- or just talking very fast and convincingly -- and deflecting the bad guys from the group completely. Yeah. If she could have moved, she's have smiled impishly. "Distract" she replied.

    Suddenly she finds herself standing in a plain 10'x10' stone room with one door. Catching her balance, and thus finding she can move again, she is about to go to that door, when she is interrupted. "Whoa! That's better!" comes a familiar but long silent voice from her side. "Heart's Reach!" Tarva shrieks, and draws him out. "You're back! I mean you're talking again. Oh, I've missed you." "I am, aren't I?" responds HR, sounding a little surprised himself. "Well. It's good to be back, kiddo." And then, contritely, "Um. You're ok, then?" "Yes, why shouldn't I be? Oh, maybe a little cramped from being held still for so long, but a few stretches should take care of that." "What are you talking about?" HR asks in a confused tone. "What are you talking about?" Tarva asks in return.

    "Tell me what you remember, please," HR requests. "Ok," says Tarva. "We were all in the Fire Temple of the outer ring of the new Temple of Elemental Evil, right?" "Uh-huh. Go on," prompts HR. "Well you started to be really worried about something, only I couldn't tell what. It was making me nervous too. Then this bright light sorta walked through a door at the other end of a room we were outside of.. It shot a beam of light at us, and I guess it knocked me out. Sorry. When I came to, we were all in the Old Phoenix Tavern. I mean, everyone else was, but you and I were sorta watching it all from somewhere else, right?"

    "Tarva, I don't remember any such place. And, um, first off, that gate -- the thing of light was one of the moving gates you'd been searching for -- anyway, the gate didn't knock you out. I did. There was so much power coming to me from the gate, and I didn't know how to handle it all, and some of it just came loose and hit you. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!" HR sounds like he is in pain. Tarva resists an urge to sit down and cuddle him in her lap. "Shhh, Shhh, it's ok. I'm all right. We lived through it. I know you were just trying to protect me, like you've always done. It's ok now." There was a short, silent pause, then Tarva asked, "What happened next?"

    "The gate swept over us. And I didn't want it to take you away, so I did something - I don't know the words to tell you what - to hold it open. There was an immense amount of energy pouring through. The gate reformed as a cone around you, with me at its point at the ceiling, and you lying in the center on the floor. Your friends tried to reach you to help you, and they all disappeared through the gate when they got close." [It would not be until much later, when Tarva ran into Rowan again, that she would hear about the conversations which HR held with her teammates.] "I was having a lot of trouble: there was just so much power pouring in. I didn't know how to do anything with it except feed it back into holding the gate away from you, and thus still open. But that just meant that even more power came into me. I didn't see any way this could end, short of my exploding. Then this presence made itself known to me -- I can't think of any better way to describe it. It reached out to me, only not physically, and started showing me how to shunt the power aside, to gradually and safely defuse what I was doing with the gate. And as strange as this might sound, it seemed to me that this presence was coming to me through the gate."

    "I'll bet that presence was Lord God Aastrjud," Tarva replied. "He was in control of GateSpace -- which seems to be this somewhere between the two sides of every gate or portal. I didn't really talk to him -- except maybe right at the end. I think we were all in there for about twelve hours. He had written a letter to Ahb, in which he explained that I had brought everyone into his domain by entering a gate without projecting a destination, or something like that. And that he had been required to act to protect his space from the resulting rupture.   Anyway, I could watch and hear Ahb read this to the rest of the group, but I wasn't really with them. I was in some sort of stasis and couldn't move or talk. And you were sheathed and next to me. Maybe you don't remember any of this because he had to wrap you even tighter than me, in order to protect his domain? But anyway, he seemed to know everything there was to know about gates and portals and their energy and stuff; so I'll bet he was the one who helped you."

    "Could be," HR responded. "So. What happened while I wasn't there?" And Tarva gives him a quick overview of the entertainment requested by the GateSpace Deity, and how the group responded. "By the way," she continued, trying to speak casually, "what do you think of Taizu?"   "He seems nice enough; he's good for you; and he wants to keep you safe. I certainly approve of that," says HR. "Oh," replies Tarva, mostly out of relief that there isn't going to be any jealousy or conflict. Then her ears replay what was actually said. She's getting ready to be huffy about this "keep you safe" concept. But before she can speak again, Taizu appears with a pile of money and the stuff from the split and also, at his feet, is a bow that neither of us had seen before. In Taizu's head he hears, "It's a +2 Mighty Composite Longbow (+3 STR) of Speed. Thanks for the entertainment."

    Under the presumption that Taizu is a little distracted by his own transition, plus that voice in his head. And thus even if he is taller than, and every bit as quick as, Tarva, she's going to "win" initiative.
    So Tarva is yelling, "Taizu!" in an elated tone, as she is jumping to hug him -- legs wrapped around his hips -- and pull his head down for a long kiss. Tarva has _not_ let go of Heart's Reach during this, and HR is pointed straight up at the first grab, and then slanting back over their heads as Tarva pull's Taizu's head forward.

    Taizu holds Tarva at arm length (i.e., her upper body only since he's not going to fight to get her to unwrap) and with a "You're alright! I thought I lost you." gives her a hug. He then holds her at arm length again (mostly to keep her from twining further around him for a minute) and asks. "Is Heart's Reach okay? I thought I heard him swear before I went through the gate? Where are we?"

    Tarva lets the kiss break off (but not the bear hug) and says, "I know you two know each other, but you've never been properly introduced. Taizu, this is Heart's Reach, the best sword in this world or any other. HR, this is Taizu Trellen Treesong. You may not call him 'Willow'; only I get to do that.
    "Dearheart, I saw everything you did - all you went through to rescue me. Us. I was so worried for you; and all I could do was watch.
    "And HR is talking again. We have so much to catch up on - all three of us. Um, what's all this at our feet?"

    Heart's Reach says, "It is pleasant to be able to express my delight in making your acquaintance Taizu. You seem to have the same interest in making Tarva happy and keeping her safe (it is most distressing the number of times those two desires are at cross-purposes...) that I do."
    Nearly (but, obviously, not exactly) simultaneous with Heart's Reach's statement the door is opened by a golden-skinned male. He is attractive but not gorgeous. He says, " Welcome to Mordenkainen's Retreat. My name is Elakiel. I serve the Circle. You must be Tarva Streamside and Taizu Trellen Treesong Please come with me. I am sure you wish to refresh yourself before seeing the Circle. Do you have any particular needs that I may assist with? Clothing? Food? Drink? Do you need assistance carrying anything? How may I serve?" ...

    Tarva had been reflecting on how formally HR was speaking, when talking to someone besides herself. For all his reluctance to talk about his existence before they found each other, he was clearly made for, and perhaps by, a high-powered Pennochian armorer-mage -- and in that country those usually ended up high in the nobility. Perhaps HR had missed all the formality and splendor that goes with being at court. Well, if so, all the more reason for her and Taizu to get back to Greyhawk and establish themselves as the darlings of the social swirl (while setting up their private music school and concentrating on his style of music for the next year or fifty.

    Now, not in the least embarrassed, Tarva unclutches her legs from around Taizu, stands on her own (but not moving out of his encircling arms), and says, "A bath? Clean? If we're meeting people then I want to be clean." And, with quote marks that at least Taizu can hear: "'But I haven't anything to wear.'"

    Taizu tucks Tarva slightly behind him by taking a half step forward knowing that this is the best he'll do. "Wait a minute. What exactly is Mordenkainen's Retreat? What is the Circle? And why are we here? Last thing I remember before walking into this room was being in GateSpace. What exactly just happened and what do you want?"

    "This is the Keep of the Circle of Eight, who watch over the Balance. How you arrived here is not mine to tell: you should ask the Circle when you meet. Again, how may I serve?" Under this courtesy, Taizu relents and lets Elakiel lead us to a room -- rather, a suite To move the random coins and items spread across the floor of the reception room, he gestures and it all gathers together in the center, then lifts up onto a Floating Disk, which follows him down the hallways.

    We come to a double door which opens into a bedroom chambers. There is a foyer, a bedroom with very soft looking bed, and a large bathroom with a palacial-sized bath. Astonishingly, there is running water, and more wonderously, hot water. Tarva looks at the bath, at the bed, at the bath, and asks Elakiel, "How soon is our meeting with the Circle?"

    "In an hour," Elakiel says; then, after making sure that they don't need anything else, and telling them how to contact him if they do, discreetly leaves.

    There is a big, fluffy bed, that Tarva is eying (one eye: the other on Taizu) almost as intensely as she is the bath he is drawing for them. There probably isn't time, now, she figures. Besides, they'd have to move aside the carefully laid out suits of clothes (hers a blue gown, his a formal, high-classical bard's). And, really, a bath first. Luxury, indeed. Taizu washes her hair for her.

    While they're washing and drying, Tarva and Heart's Reach are filling Taizu in on what they know and think happened back in the ToEE; and Taizu is confirming what Tarva had already told HR about the GateSpace adventure. Taizu and HR have progressed to discussing what HR's future plans are -- which Tarva certainly wants to hear -- when there is a knock on their door.

    It's Elakiel, asking them to follow him. Tarva discreetly sheathes HR before leaving the room (she didn't even consider leaving him behind, of course). They all walk down a few corridors to one ending in a pair of large double doors with ornate, scrollwork handles. Elakiel opens these, and announces, "Taizu Trellen Treesong, Master Bard of the City of Greyhawk; Tarva Melody Streamside, visitor from another plane" He does not introduce the five people sitting around a table in the room (there are places for nine).

    "Welcome," says the center of the five seated people. "We of the Circle are looking forward to talking with you." "Thank you," Taizu replies politely. Tarva curtseys (and, yes, she does that extremely well, thank you very much: she had years of practice growing up in Tiran). She is on her best behavior-befitting-noble-customers. "Morgankainen," the human male in the center introduces himself. Then continues with, to his immediate right, the male human, "Otto", and then the female human "Jallarzi Sallavarian"; then gesturing to his left, "Nystul" and then "Warnes Starcoat", both male humans. They are all wearing high quality, comfortable clothes. Tarva recognizes "Otto" and "Nystul" as mages who have created spells which were then named after them. Morgankainen is extremely famous as being the head of Greyhawk's Circle of Eight. The other two names she doesn't immediately recognize.

    Morgankainen gestures them to seats across the table, and begins, "God Aastrjud talked to me recently. He informed me of the unusual stresses imposed upon his realm, whether knowingly or un- on your part. And he instructed me to teach you how to avoid ever doing that again. It, um, is most disconcerting to have a God interrupt your research. Unfortunately, Draunij -- who specializes in gates and their abilities, aspects, and attributes -- is not present just now, so this duty remains with me. In exchange, I hope that you will have some worthwhile stories to tell us. To begin with, young lady, please tell us why you're traveling with an Artifact?"

     It has been a great many years since anyone has called Tarva 'young'. Still as long as these master mages -- the ones she's read about anyway -- have been alive, perhaps she does seem to be such to them. And of course she knows what - or who - he means by 'Artifact'. She unbuckles her weapon belt and lays the scabbard on the table in front of her. "His name is Heart's Reach," she says, "and we travel together because we're friends." Then, "HR, do you want to be drawn?" "No," Heart's Reach replies, "I'm just fine as I am." Well, Tarva thinks, that ought to put a pre-emptive halt to any know-it-all declarations that 'Swords don't talk'.

    All five of the master mages displayed visible reactions to HR's words: interest rather than startlement, if Tarva was reading their body language correctly. But the other four seemed content to let Morgankainen remain their point of contact. "Tenser is the one of us who specializing in sentient swords, and other weapons. Unfortunately, he does not work with us anymore. He will be displeased when he finds out."

    "Finds out? Tensor?" asks Taizu.   "But I thought he died, with Otiluke, when Rary turned traitor and tried to prevent the signing of the Pact of Greyhawk."

    "That version of events is not quite accurate, but we have felt no overpowering need to set the record straight. Rary was chasing Lord Robilar, not fleeing with him. We have heard nothing from or about either of them for these three years. Doubtless the chase will make an epic tale when it finally concludes." (Tarva makes a mental note to herself about pushing Taizu to write it as an opera.) "Otiluke was the actual traitor in the circle, and he is truly gone. Tensor had one remaining clone, and when it came back he was more interested in promoting Good, than he was in maintaining the Balance. He therefore resigned from the Circle."

    Turning back to Tarva, Morgankainen returns to his main subject. "In order to comply with God Aastrjud's 'request', I will need to take Heart's Reach into my lab and determine exactly how he is utilizing Gate Energy. That's a very subtle and obscure form of energy, so I'll need to shield my lab while I'm working. Which also means that I will not be able to allow you to be in the lab with us." His demeanor subtly shifted (Tarva tried to account for how he'd done this) such that it was somehow clear to all that he was now addressing Heart's Reach: "Honored Sword, will you permit that I take you to my lab and teach you about Gate Energy?"

    "Tarva?" asked HR.

    "We need to learn," Tarva replies. "And this is ever so much better than my getting hold of books (somehow) and reading them to you. God Aastrjud could have just destroyed you - us - to remove the problem we caused. Instead he sent us here. I think we can trust Morgankainen to be doing exactly what he offered. I think you should go with him."

    "Lord Morgankainen, I shall be honored to accompany you to your lab, and therein assist you in any small way that I am able."

    Tarva stands up and hands HR, sheath, belt, and all, to Morgenkainen, while saying, "While we were in the town of Waybury, we engaged the mage Fflamwyth ap Trahaearn to cast Analyze Dweomer on Heart's Reach. He wrote up his findings for us. Would those be of use to you?" "Yes, they would," Morgenkainen replies while taking HR from Tarva, "please give them to Elakiel when its convenient." He then nods to her and then leaves the room.

    Taizu also stands, and having attracted the attention of the remaining master mages says, "I would like to ask a couple of favors. Is it possible to find out what happened to the rest of our party? And is there any way that Tarva can send a message to her Aunt Milicent?" The master mages glance at each other, then Jallarzi and Warnes also stand up. "We can try scrying for your other party members," Jallarzi says. "If you'll accompany us, we'll use your descriptions and images to search for them." Taizu glances at Tarva, who smiles at him, and then accompanies them out of the room.

    Nystul and Otto also stand up. Nystul says, "It was a pleasure meeting you," nods, and leaves. Otto says, "Now, about contacting your Aunt -- Milicent was it? I presume she's a half-Celestial like yourself, or perhaps a full Celestial. And, well, the thing is that usually they're the ones who do the contacting, if you see what I mean."

    "Oh, no, sir, I'm not Celestial at all. I'm part Fey: one-sixteenth Fey to be exact. And Aunt Milicent is really my great-great-great-great (that's four, isn't it?) aunt, and she is pure Fey."

    "Oh," responds Otto, as a kind of placeholder noise while he thinks. "Well, contacting the Fey, that may be a bit of a difficulty. I hope your bard friend will excuse us if we can't do that immediately."

    "He was just trying to relieve one of my worries, I'm sure. If you know anything about the Fey, then you know that to Aunt Milicent receiving a letter tomorrow, or receiving it a decade from now, will be about equally meaningful. But thank you for thinking about it."

    "Ah." And there was a somewhat awkward silence. "Um, if you'll excuse me, there's an experiment I need to go monitor." "Of course; and thank you again."   And then Tarva was alone in the room. If she'd thought to bring some paper, or ask for some, she could start doing something about turning into song her friends' rescue adventure through the GateSpace dungeon. Well, needs must, and she'd just have to do what she could with memory. Suddenly she gave a short laugh: it wasn't all that long ago that none of her songsmithing had been done with pen and paper; how quickly she'd gone from being embarrassed to not read and write, into being dependent on those abilities.

    So when Taizu and the two master mages return, an hour or so later, they find her with her feet on the table, chair balanced on its back legs, eyes unfocused, and humming. But, Taizu notices, with her back to none of the room's doors. When she sees them come in, she gets up and looks expectantly at them. "Any luck?"

    Jallarzi says, "Despite good descriptions, we couldn't actually find any of your party. We think that one or more of them might have been in Greyhawk: there are traces of an unusual energy signature there, which seem to have occurred at about the right time." Warnes chimes in: "Just as a cross-check, we looked in on you. We could see you easily enough, and there wasn't any trace of that energy signature -- but then, being in here is rather a special case."

    "Oh." Tarva isn't sure what all of that means. "Elakiel said something about this being 'Mordenkainen's Retreat'. Um, what exactly does that mean?"

    "This Keep is a magical construct that Mordenkainen conceived of, and then brought into existence," answered Jallarzi. " It provides us of the Circle a locale where we can meet to discuss and debate, or conduct experiments without worrying about interruptions from the outside." At Warnes's amused snort she also smiled and added, "Usually, that is. Mordenkainen has the Retreat running at a different time rate -- that makes it almost impossible for anyone not keyed to it to even interact with it enough to cast the entrance spells. Of course a God...    Physically, we're in the Yatil Mountains, but that's not really relevant to anything. Certainly there is no direct contact with the outside, normal world."

    Warnes changes the subject. "We don't know how long it will take Mordenkainen to work out Gate Energies with your friend," nodding slightly at Tarva. "As he said, Draunij is our real expert on that. But it will certainly be several hours; and could be several days. Not to seem inhospitable, but there are really very few places inside the Retreat where we could take you, and Elakiel can escort you to all of those. And we do have our own projects to get back to."

    "Of a certainty," says Taizu with a bow. "Thank you for the time you have given us." "Yes, thanks," echoes Tarva. The two master mages open a door and leave, and at almost the same time the door Taizu and Tarva had first entered through is opened by Elakiel. At Tarva's request, he first takes them back to their suite, where she digs up Fflamwyth ap Trahaearn's written notes (which also discuss Aunt Milicent's amulet and Tarva's Feyland bow). He escorts them to a dining room and serves them a scrumptous dinner, then escorts them back to their suite. And its big fluffy bed. [It should be noted here that Tarva still has a several month supply of Oerik, and has been taking it with each "start of waning of Luna".] With nobody likely to interrupt them, with no duties in front of them, Tarva is thinking that is should be fairly easy to convince Taizu that this place was safe enough -- when she is interrupted by being grabbed and tossed onto that selfsame bed. A moment later Taizu landed half beside, half on top of her, and made it abundantly clear that no such convincing was going to be necessary.

    Next morning -- well, it felt like they had slept for a long time, even though they hadn't gone to sleep very soon -- after another long luxurious bath and then dressing in more clothing which wasn't theirs, but was just their sizes, Elakiel discretely knocks on their door, and then escorts them to breakfast. As they're finishing (tea for Taizu, hot cocoa for Tarva), Otto walks into the dining room and addresses them. Well, actually, while he acknowledges Tarva's presence, he's clearly talking to Taizu. "While I am unfortunately unable to assist your lady in contacting her Aunt, would it be of any interest to you to converse with your father? Because that I can arrange."    "Really?" asks Taizu in a surprised tone. "Your father and the Circle are frequently involved in the same issues - we have often consulted with each other, and thus we have a means for contacting him. Would you wish to do this?"

    Taizu hastily gets up from his chair. "Yes," he says. "Yes, please. I would like that very much." Then, as he's about to follow Otto out of the room, he notices that Tarva is still seated. "Aren't you coming?" "He's your father," Tarva demurs. Correctly interpreting this as more of Tarva's irrational, Albion Elf based insecurity, Taizu replies, "He is going to love you. At the very very least, he can't snap your head off through a palatir." After the tiniest of pauses he holds out his hand to her and continues, "Please come meet him." So Tarva gets up, takes his hand, and goes with him.

    Otto leads them into a room with several full-length mirrors along the walls. He passes his hand over the surface of one of them, and as it changes from reflective to a featureless grey, he tells them, "Now we wait for a bit." After a few minutes the mirror clears and a strange (to Tarva) elf is looking out of it. "Lord Otto," he says, "what may I do for you?" "We have a strange visitor here at the Keep," Otto replies mischievously, and waves Taizu forward. Taizu moves to the mirror, but doesn't let go of Tarva and drags her along. "Taizu!", says the other elf, "this is a surprise." It is obvious that he has instantly come up with many questions, but Taizu has his own agenda. "Sir," he cuts in, while dragging Tarva in front of the mirror, "this is my fiancee, Tarva Melody Streamside. Tarva, this is my father, Trellen Puhala Firelight."

     This announcement and introduction has caught Taizu's father by surprise, but from his delighted "Ah!" he must be considering it a pleasant one. Tarva may be reluctant, but she isn't stupid, so she is already offering him an elegant courtesy and saying, "It is a pleasure to meet you sir. I've heard a great deal about you." "Whereas I have heard nothing at all about you," he replies. "You're going to fix that very soon, aren't you, boy?" The words may be gruff, but Tarva can hear the love underlying them. "Yes, father. Very soon, I hope," is Taizu's reply. He glances over at Otto, who easily interprets the implied question and says, "Talk as long as you want," makes an ornate gesture with his hands, and then leaves. Tarva finds that there is now a barstool behind her, and another beside it for Taizu.

    "Shall I go first," asks Taizu, "or would you rather?" "Oh, I think my curiosity is much larger than yours, at this moment. By all means you go first." Tarva is thinking that she likes Trellen's gentle humor. In a few short sentences Taizu relates the basics of Tarva's story: being from Feyland, stranded here, earning money by singing -- he's interrupted by Trellen, "Oh, so you're Brother Callum's soloist. I'm sorry I never made time to come listen to you there." -- Taizu's talking her into letting him travel with her, joining an adventuring and somewhat do-gooder group, finding some loot and wiping out some nests of evil, and most recently working to destroy a re-created Temple of Elemental Evil... Again Trellen interrupts: on this he wants all the details Taizu can provide. Taizu is delighted to do this: he has been wanting to warn someone in authority about the ToEE ever since we stumbled across it. With Tarva now entering into the discussion and adding facts, observations, and conjectures to Taizu's listing, they provide Trellen with all the details they can. Taizu deliberately stops just before the traveling gate arrived. Thus far, Tarva has noticed, he has made no mention of Heart's Reach at all.

    Trellen now has a surprise for them. "That was not a re-born Temple of Elemental Evil, actually," he says. "What it is, instead, is rather more complicated than I can explain to you just now; but that doesn't change your very valid conclusion that it needs to be dealt with. I'll get word to someone, complete with your directions and which parts might be safe to use as a staging area." He pauses a moment, then continues with, "I notice that you left off with your party exploring the whatsit, and yet here the two of you are at Mordenkainen's." The sentence might not be a question, but the arched eyebrow certainly was. "That, sir, is because the rest of the tale is not mine to tell," Taizu replies, almost huffily. Despite the circumstances, Tarva is distracted: she's never seen Taizu do huff before. Must be a son-father thing. Distractedly, she hears Trellen responding, "And the rest of it, even the Feyland part, was? Well, ..."

     Belatedly, she realizes that she's been caught daydreaming. "Oh," she says, with the back of her hand flying up to her mouth, and her brain trying to catch up. "Oh, sir --" "Trellen," he firmly interrupts. "Trellen. Taizu is trying to protect me, which I think he worries about way too often. However, in this case, perhaps he's right. That is, this is something I do want to share with you, because you're family, or going to be. But -- you've used this channel to talk to people here in the Keep often, so you'd know: can it be eavesdropped on?" "I take your point," Trellen says in turn. "As far as I know, it is impossible to eavesdrop on this means of communication. However, the same cannot be said with certainty about my locale. So: I will hold you to that promise, and hear the rest of this saga when you can safely tell it to me." "By then you'll have turned it into a song," Taizu mummers into Tarva's ear..

    "Perhaps so." Trellen has turned his attention back to Taizu, and obviously caught what he said. "I am not in Greyhawk at present. Rather I'm in Hocheck consulting with the Grand Duke of Joss. He needs more troops, and it isn't going to be easy to find them. So I may be at this for rather a while. Taizu, when you get back to Greyhawk, if I'm not back yet, please look up Enstad Holme. Any task that he asks you to do, I'd appreciate your at least considering taking on." He glances back over to Tarva. "You, my dear, would make an absolutely horrible spy. Nobody could fail to notice you. But perhaps you might consider acting as the occasional distraction? If everyones' eyes are on you, then maybe even this too tall son of mine can manage to remain unnoticed." He doesn't wait for an answer, or even for a reaction to all the what-if-s this bald statement is churning up in Tarva's mind. "Son, if you have anything you need to tell me before I get back to Greyhawk, you may write me through the Knights. But I'm sure you know that even their couriers can be intercepted." Then he gives them both a very happy smile. "And don't you dare get married without me." He waves his hand in a gesture similar to Otto's, and is gone.

    "I like your father," Tarva tells Taizu. "Told you s--" Taizu starts in, but is sidetracked by a strategically timed kiss.

    Sometime that afternoon -- or at any rate between the luncheon and dinner meals -- Elakiel asks them - well, asks Tarva - if he might take her Aunt Milicent amulet to Lord Mordenkainen. Tarva isn't surprised at this, and takes off the amulet to give to him. "Does he want to examine my bow, as well?," she asks. "It also came here from Feyland." "He has made no mention of it," Elakiel replies, "but I will ask him." That evening, when he comes to escort them to dinner, he answers her. "Lord Mordenkainen would indeed like to examine your bow, but does not want it brought into his lab until he and Heart's Reach have finished some delicate tests. Would you consider allowing me to take it now, so that I do not need to interrupt you when he does want it?" What a delicate, insightful, discreet manner he has, Tarva thinks, and says, "Yes, of course," while fetching it to give to him.

    A couple of days later, or at any rate after two more sleep (and lovemaking) periods, Elakiel asks them to accompany him to the conference room again. Mordenkainen is there, with Heart's Reach on the table in front of him. Aunt Milicent's amulet is also on the table, holding down a sheaf of papers, and Tarva's bow is standing in a corner of the room. Otto and Nystul are also there already; and as Taizu and Tarva seat themselves, Jallarzi and Warnes hurry in and also take seats. Obviously HR ranks as a high source of curiosity

    "The mage you consulted was correct," Mordenkainen began without any preamble, "in so far as he was able to go. And of course to the extent that his investigations are now out of date, because of ways in which Heart's Reach has changed since then. To begin with, HR is no longer drawing power from Feyland by way of your Aunt Milicent's personal gate amulet. And as an aside, that is a most unusual and well crafted magical device in its own right. When you write your Aunt, please convey my appreciation of the fine work which went into its creation." Tarva nods, not wanting to interrupt.

    "Our," he continues, putting his hand momentarily on HR to indicate the other half of the pronoun, "best guess is that God Aastrjud severed that link, as part of protecting his GateSpace. At the same time, God Aastrjud must have also provided Heart's Reach with a completely new link to a different power source. Only in this way could Heart's Reach have not only retained his self awareness, but also returned to the level of full sentience he had enjoyed before entering this world. My first assumption was that this was a direct link to Feyland, one that no longer necessitated any intermediate gates.   Because I was fairly sure that God Aastrjud would want to discourage, or at least not actively encourage, Heart's Reach from making direct use of Gate Energy ever again. As it turned out, my conjecture was only partially correct.

    "Heart's Reach is indeed no longer using any link to Gate Energy. Under carefully controlled and highly shielded conditions, we have determined that he can indeed still tap into a nearby gate; and also that he still knows how to use the dampening procedures he was taught by God Aastrjud. However, since use of such taps under unshielded conditions would most likely cause God Aastrjud some annoyance, and since God Aastrjud has expressed rather forcefully his desire to not be so annoyed, Heart's Reach simply won't be tapping into any nearby gates." Tarva frowns a look at HR: she's sure he was crossing his fingers when he promised that - or adding an extra clause like, "unless I really need to." She makes a note to discuss this with him in private.

    "However," Mordenkainen went on, "he is not tapping into Feyland, either. Instead, his energy is coming from a different plane: the Celestial one. Again, this is just speculation, but our guess seems reasonable to both of us. Which is that Heart's Reach is much more closely aligned with the Celestial plane, which for brevity could be labeled Lawful Good, than he is with Feyland, which seems to me to be tottering on the edge of pure Chaos. If so, then it seems reasonable that God Aastrjud would have an easier time doing whatever he did, which now allows Heart's Reach to pull that energy in, by tapping into the Celestial plane instead of Feyland.

    "Oh, I should add that Heart's Reach continues to draw energy from his oldest source: you, Tarva. It isn't a very rapid flow, and we've determined that he has no conscious control over it. But whenever you are holding him in your hand, and he isn't sheathed, he is drawing energy from you. These have been imperceptible amounts, to you, thus far; but as I have not been able to determine the exact mechanism for this, I cannot promise that it will always remain imperceptible."

    This obviously doesn't sit all that well with Taizu, because he interrupts to ask, "And if it ever grows beyond imperceptible, what will the effect on Tarva be?" Mordenkainen begins, "As I --" but Heart's Reach cuts in: "Friend Taizu, it will never happen. You know I would never allow myself to be a means of harm to Tarva." "But..." Taizu begins, and then rapidly shifts gears. "You are of course correct, Heart's Reach. I was not thinking clearly. I apologize." Tarva is tempted to jump in with a "Hey, sitting right here" - just as she often did when Suzi and Taizu discussed her future. But she recognizes that the urge is only a nervous reaction to this very serious and personal subject under discussion, and she wants, needs, to hear what else Mordenkainen has learned.

    But Taizu isn't finished. "Heart's Reach, I apologize, but I asked this of Fflamwyth ap Trahaearn, and I truly need to know if the answer has changed." Looking directly at Mordenkainen, he continues, "What happens if Tarva dies?"

    Mordankainen seems taken aback at the abruptness of the question, but nevertheless comes forward with an answer. "That's actually a very interesting point. As things stand now, with Heart's Reach ability to tap into the Celestial plane, and given his absolute devotion to Tarva, it is going to be impossible for her to die, until after Heart's Reach has completely exhausted himself in healing her. Which I think we all know is exactly what he will do, for as long as she's in danger of dying.

    "Heart's Reach is not like other magical weapons. Well, yes, you all knew that. But I'm talking about something else; something beyond his sentience and his continuing growth into new abilities. As an artifact, Heart's Reach has great powers already, and vast potential for gaining new powers in the future. But if ever he should totally exhaust his energy, if ever he should drain himself down to zero, he will be utterly destroyed, disintegrate into a pile of dust." He turns his eyes onto Tarva. "So don't put him into that position." "Of course not, sir," Tarva meekly replies. From his expression, he understands that Tarva will work just as hard to protect HR, as HR does to protect her.

    "Hmmmph. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Now, this imperceptible energy which Heart's Reach gains from Tarva is not insignificant. Far from it. The energy from the Celestial plane powers all of Heart's Reach's abilities, and to some extent allows him to store energy against future needs. But the energy from Tarva allows him to grow. Whenever she holds him, he gains a little; whenever she uses him in combat, he gains faster.

    "There is no predictable limit to how far Heart's Reach growth in abilities might go. Or in what directions. For example, he appears to be taking on an aspect which seems to be tending towards, for lack of a better word, holiness. Possibly this is growing out of his already being a healer. It seems to me possible that he might learn to channel positive energy - although I doubt that he would ever be able to use it to power his own abilities, as he is now doing with Celestial plane energy. But I believe that, should he learn how, he will eventually be able to Turn Undead."

    Taizu interrupts again. It's sweet how protective he is of her, and he's certainly more assertive than she normally feels comfortable being (under social -- non-combat -- conditions, that is). Probably, she thinks, it's a natural aspect of his information gathering skill. "You said that Heart's Reach could learn, and he's clearly been learning from you. Whom else could he be learning from?"

    "Oh, archmages, solars, very powerful clerics, Gods." It seems to Tarva that Mordenkainen is pulling Taizu's leg.

    "At God Aastrjud's request, I have taught Hearth's Reach how to shield himself from the proximity of Gates. This is very important, especially if he ever travels through one with her. This is entirely a matter of self-control for him; but that shouldn't be a problem, as long as Tarva isn't badly hurt while they're near a gate." Tarva could swear that he winked at her as he said this. "Going through a Gate, unprepared and unshielded, would be very, very bad: there would be a white-light feedback loop between him and the Gate, that would rapidly spiral into enough loose energy to destroy them both, plus anyone and anything for several hundred yards nearby. It is therefore immensely important that Heart's Reach be able to sense Gates, to prevent his ever being surprised by one. We have developed his sensitivity to Gate energies as far as it can be taken; he should be able to sense and locate even a deactivated gate far enough away that even its sudden activation would not 'trap' him.

    "Are there any questions?"

    "My apologies again, Heart's Reach," begins Taizu, "but back to the possibility of his being drained completely. If he disintegrates, what happens to Tarva?"   "Well, aside from what would obviously be an emotional devastation, the most noticeable change is that Tarva would start to age normally again."

    This brings a surprised response from Tarva, "What? You mean I'm aging abnormally now?" "Well," and Mordenkainen is clearly amused, "that is certainly one valid wording for it. Heart's Reach has apparently decided to help you in various ways. One of these is that he has figured out how being in Feyland had kept you from aging, and is now applying Celestial energy to provide that same effect." "Yeah," interjects Heart's Reach. "My apologies, Taizu, but Tarva, now you can stop worrying about the elf outliving you."

    There is an all-around silence, stunned on Tarva's part, for a few moments after this. Taizu is smiling at the graceful way he's been repaid. Mordenkainen eventually resumes, "Hmmmph, yes. Well, also, for as long as Tarva is holding Heart's Reach unsheathed, his assistance grants her the Feats of Improved Combat Reflexes and Uncanny Dodge. Somehow it won't surprise me if he finds other ways to help her as he grows."

    Taizu has still other questions. "What would happen to their bond if either of them were affected by a magically imposed alignment change? What if Tarva were possessed?" "Taizu!" says Tarva, uncomfortable at his straighforwardness. "You're asking ridiculous questions." He looks at her fondly and replies with a tone of concern, "You're the one with the abhorrence against ever being possessed again."

    When he's sure that he's not interrupting, Mordenkainen indulges his curiosity. "Again?" he says to Tarva. But it's Taizu who answers. "First thing she ever did," he announces proudly, "is chase a demon out of two possessed bodies in a row; but then it took over hers. It, um, wasn't a pleasant experience." Tarva knows she's blushing, but she manages to look calmly back into Mordenkainen's eyes. "Perhaps I've been concentrating too much on testing the Artifact side of this bond," he muses out loud. "But to answer your questions," turning now back to Taizu, "I believe that it would be impossible to change the alignment of either of them alone. If someone somehow knew to create and cast a multiplex spell to change both their alignments at once, that would be a different story. Similarly, anyone now trying to Possess Tarva would, as soon as they held an unsheathed Heart's Reach, find themselves fighting both Heart's Reach and Tarva for control."

    Taizu has one more question, "Could Heart's Reach change form?" "Curiosity killed the bard," Tarva mutters out of the side of her mouth; and then Taizu sees her eyes unfocus. He knows that there's going to be another new song along sometime soon. Nevertheless, he strokes her arm to get her attention as Mordenkainen replies, "I have no doubt that he could obtain the knowledge and power for accomplishing that, if he wanted. But it would take a massive amount of energy, and he would be very weak for a long time, probably years, afterwards." "And why would he want to?" Tarva asks Taizu.

    After a short pause to see if there are any more questions, Mordenkainen moves on to his next subject. He pushes the papers and amulet across the table to Tarva. "Your Aunt Milicent's Personal Gate amulet is no longer being interfered with by Heart's Reach. However, as you were told by the first Sage you consulted in Greyhawk, conditions on Oerth are not currently hospitable for connections with Feyland. Which means that it will continue to not work, on full moons or any other time. And of course, whenever Feyland once again becomes reachable, the amulet will still only provide transport for one person. Also, I'll ask you to give Heart's Reach plenty of warning before you make any attempt to use the amulet - he will of course be aware of its nearby presence; but a sudden activation by you would not give him any opportunity to shield himself." "Of course," replies Tarva.

    "As regards your Feyland bow," he continues, it no longer partakes of either Heart's Reach's extra-planar powers, or directly uses your Aunt's amulet. It is simply a +2 Mighty (+4) Composite Longbow of Distance. Other than being a really fine bow, there's nothing special about it any more; at least, not special in the ways that Heart's Reach and the amulet are. Do you have any questions?"

    Tarva actually does have a question. "Ever since Heart's Reach saved my life, while we were fighting the Giants, I've realized that his abilities -- especially his healing -- would be extremely attractive to powerful and unscrupulous people. Therefore, I have since that time tried to minimize the number of people who know about him; and have requested that those people who do know be careful to not talk about him to others. Nonetheless, I'm worried that even vague rumors about him would cause overly interested people to come, or send agents, to try and obtain him for themselves.

    "Now that he has returned to being the full companion I've missed, and is, you say, wonderfully growing even beyond that, I am worried that he will become a beacon, directly attracting the attention of those who can detect such energies. Is this a valid concern?" "Oh, yes," Morgenkainen breathes out his answer. "Anyone searching for artifacts, with the proper tools or spells, will most certainly detect him. From halfway across the continent, perhaps halfway around the world. Oh, not for as long as you all are in the Keep here, but as soon as you return to the outside world."

"Then," continues Tarva, " is there any way to mask Heart's Reach? Limit the knowledge of him to no more than word of mouth? Because the futility --" "Fatality," interjects HR "-- of anyone else trying to use Heart's Reach will doubtless not accompany the other rumors; or be discounted if it does. And I do not want us to spend the rest of our lives fighting off continual attempts to steal him."

    "Something might be done, "Mordenkainen mused. "I'll have to think on it, but I believe it's possible." "I'd gladly pay you whatever it costs." "Oh," and his eyes suddenly gleam, "let's make it an indefinite loan, and your payment will be to satisfy my curiosity. First by telling me all about your earlier life, and I do mean all: no false modesty. And second by keeping me informed of what you and Heart's Reach do in the future." "That sounds very generous," replies Tarva. "I accept your terms."

    Taizu wants to know, "How do we, does Tarva, get in touch with you, to provide those future tales?" "There is no good means for that. Unless one or more of you were to join the Circle as associates. However, since that requires taking an oath to maintain the Balance, and since all three of you seem rather wedded to the side of Good, I doubt that you'd be willing to walk that path."

"Is my father one of your Circle's associates, then?" and it is obvious that Taizu is rather concerned about the answer to this question. "Not at all," Otto answers. "We frequently, but not always, have goals in common. So we've set up a means whereby we can get his attention; but that is strictly a one-way alert." "I think one of us will just contact you, from time to time, and invite you to come spend another visit with us here," finishes Mordenkainen.

    "Oh, the Circle," Tarva says, reminded of a much earlier thought of hers. "From what little I've heard, that isn't just several of you with common interests getting together in a group, but more importantly you all have taught yourselves how to increase the strength and effect of your spells, but casting them as a group rather than individually." "That's accurate enough, as far as it goes," Jallarzi replies, "why?"   "Because I want to do the same thing with Bards," is Tarva's response. "A single bard's playing or singing can do amazing things," and she's looking at Taizu as she says this, "so I can't help thinking that a chorus - an 'octave' - of bards, performing together could also be much more powerful."

    The master mages look back and forth at each other. This must be a new idea to them. Finally Warnes answers her, "What an interesting concept. None of us know the answer to your question; nor are we aware of anyone anywhere who would be. And we are certainly not qualified to research it. I suggest that you take it up with your Bardic College." "Yes, sir, thank you," replies Tarva, not bothering to mention that she doesn't have a Bardic College. Besides, Taize does, so they can go to his.

    Mordenkainen is pushing back his chair, and the rest are rising also. "Let me go look into a way to 'mask' Heart's Reach," he says. "And later you'll tell me your life story." All the master mages leave as Taizu and Tarve also stand up. As soon as they're all gone, Tarva reaches across the table and picks up HR -- something she's been restraining herself from doing during the entire meeting. Taizu watches fondly, knowing that he's not being excluded, but well aware of where Tarva's priorities are at this moment.

    "Welcome back, Dear Heart," says Tarva as she draws HR from his sheath. "I am so delighted that you're fully back, and going to stay that way." "Me too." "You're already the best sword ever, but of course you want to grow, so I'm going to help you do that. All the time it won't scare people -- or" with a sly look at Taizu "lovers -- I'm going to be holding onto you and feeding you all the energy I can." Changing her tone to a more bantering one, she also changes the subject. "So, is my vanity about my age that obvious?" Looking at Taizu again, "to everyone?" Taizu knows when to keep his mouth shut. HR, however, answers, "what was obvious was that your irrational worries about dying before Taizu, and leaving him bereft for centuries, was getting in the way of your happiness. So I've removed that worry. I was going to tell you, I just hadn't had a chance to, yet."

    "Well, saying 'thank you' seem horribly inadequate, but nevertheless, thank you." "You're welcome," replies HR.

Then Tarva's tone turns serious, stern, almost harsh. "Now, about Gate Energy: you're going to promise me to never tap into it, ever ever ever, aren't you?" "Absolutely," responds HR with much sincerity, "unless I need to." "No! I knew you were going to say that. You're thinking that if you need the energy to keep me alive, and if there's a Gate right there, then obviously that's the right thing to do." "Well of course it is." "No it isn't. Listen to me. This goes even beyond using Gate energy. I'm talking about your burning yourself out, destroying yourself to try to save me. I know you would, Dear Heart, but you shouldn't. Mustn't. There's a better way."

     Taizu has unobtrusively withdrawn himself to a wall and is inconspicuously leaning against it. His Tarva would not welcome anyone's, even his, intrusion into this private discussion. And besides, he's honest enough with himself to know that he's ambivalent about who he wants to 'win'.

    Tarva is continuing. "If I die -- you know this, HR, you do -- if I die, I can be brought back to life through a clerical spell of Resurrection. But if you die, if you drain yourself, there is no coming back for you. So it would be much, much better for me to die, than for you to disintegrate. You can see that, can't you?" "No," HR responds stubbornly. Tarva closes her eyes briefly. "Dear Heart, that clerical spell only works if I want to come back. Please, be there. Give me someone to come back for."

    "You'll have him," HR responds, clearly referring to Taizu. Tarva looks up at Taizu and then back down to HR. "Yes, I'll have him also. Please, HR, please make that an 'also'. Please don't leave me to live without you." The silence has a definite obstinate taste to it. "All right," says Tarva, "but please think about what I've said."

    Taizu notices that neither of them have brought up the possibility of a choice between HR using Gate Energy if the other choice is draining himself to zero. Wisely he does not bring this up. He's also thinking that someone who is "tending towards holiness", and who has the possibility of learning how to Turn undead, might eventually also learn how to Resurrect. He decides to mention this idea to Heart's Reach, sometime when Tarva isn't there to hear him. For the moment, however, he hunts up Elakiel and asks for some space where Tarva can practice with Heart's Reach. It's too much to expect a bunch of mages to include a real practice ring in their magically constructed Keep, but surely there'd be some room large enough. He knows that after several days without an HR-shared workout, Tarva is going to want that more than anything; and also that working together will be the quickest way for the two of them to get past this disagreement.

   The next day Elakiel escorts Tarva, and HR, to Mordenkainen's lab. Tarva, seeing it for the first time, is looking around at all the cabinets and their contents, and the many workspaces with projects on them. Mordenkainen hands her a heart-shaped amulet on a golden chain. "You'll have to take off your Aunt's amulet to wear this," he says. "I, um, made it into a heart in honor of your companion." Tarva takes off Aunt Milicent's amulet and stashes it in her beltpouch. Then she dons the new amulet. "Stand over there," directs the mage, then casts some sort of spell at a hand mirror. He glances back and forth from it to Tarva, smiles in satisfaction, then brings the mirror over to show her. It's depicting the section of the lab that she's standing in, and in fact now that he has come over, it even shows him and a smaller version of the mirror. But of her and HR there is no trace at all, just the portions of the laboratory that would be seen if they weren't there.

Mordenkainen moves back to the opposite side of his lab, then says, "Please take Heart's Reach off, lay him down, and come over here." So she does that. When she's about halfway to him he says, "stop." He then comes up to her and shows her the mirror again. Heart's Reach is clearly in sight, lying on the floor. "Take a step towards him," says the mage, and when Tarva does, HR's image disappears. "Hold this," and he hands the mirror to her, then looks through a few drawers before coming up with a measuring cloth. "Put your toe on this," he says while setting one end down by her foot. Then he unrolls the cloth while moving towards HR. "Eighteen feet," he says, "six yards. You don't have to be holding or wearing Heart's Reach, but that is as far apart as you can be from him before your protection no longer also covers him."

    "Oh." Tarva really can't come up with anything else to say. Morgenkainen cocks an eyebrow at her, but only tells her she can pick HR up now. He puts his measuring cloth away, then leads her out of his lab and into a lounge. He gestures her towards a chair, and takes one himself. "As long as you're wearing that amulet, anyone trying to directly scry, or otherwise determine where you are or magically look at you, will get a response which indicates that you are not on this plane. As long as Heart's Reach is within that six yard limit of you, attempts to scry or locate or look at him will have the same effect. Anyone who is scrying, or otherwise magically regarding, an area that you happen to be in will not see you: the spell will look straight through you as if you aren't there. Note, now, that someone who simultaneously knows that you are in a place, and also scryes that you aren't, is going to know that there's something protecting you from being located. And since I find it inconceivable that you are going to meekly retire and stop doing everything from demon bashing to upsetting Gods, there most certainly are going to be people who know you are on this plane, even if they can't locate you. And unfortunately some of those are certainly also going to be the sort of people that you'd most rather avoid. So this isn't a cure-all. But it should help." "Thank you so much," replies Tarva.

    "Now, tell me all." As if he'd been signaled, Elakiel brings in a tray with snacks and hard cider for them. With her throat's favorite soother at hand, Tarva begins her tale with her family in Cynaria. Mordenkainen is fascinated with the details he can pull out of her, about both Albion and Feyland. They talk well into the night. Even so, when Tarva returns to their room, Taizu is still awake (well, he is an elf). Since they're probably leaving tomorrow, it seems a shame to not make use of that comfortable bed while they can.

    After breakfast, Otto asks them where exactly they would like to go. "My sister's inn in Greyhawk," Taizu replies. "The Jade Warrior and Harp". "I think you were told," Otto continues as he leads them back to the chamber by which they had come into the Keep, "that the Retreat keeps to a different time rate than the outside world. Although you have been here only five days, it is already Fireseek 28 in Greyhawk. He gestures the two into the chamber, Elakiel sets down a small chest (into which he had placed all the assorted treasure which had appeared at Taizu's feet), they stand back, the door closes, and then Taizu and Tarva are standing on a street. Outside an inn, which from its name Tarva assumes is Taizu's sister's.